Miracali Bakery

This is a great spot to pickup delicious and fresh Colombian breads! You can stop in quick to grab a coffee and a pan de bono for breakfast or you can sit and have a small snack or meal before the shopping extravaganza that is offered along Roosevelt Avenue.
This place is small so do not expect table service. As a matter of fact, there are no «tables», it’s a window counter with stools but it smells divine in there!
Enjoy!

Awful awful empanada. Pan de queso is very good. The one star is based on the worst empanada I’ve every had.

I came here a couple of times to see if anything changed, but nahhh, the pastries here just ain’t fresh. I got the pastelito de guayaba y queso and it was hard and stale. Shame too, cause the service is mad friendly.

Friendly enough cash only spot, we scored a milk corn drink (pardon our ignorance) topped with a shrinkwrapped guava candy. Would need a serious recommendation for a particular item to return.
Unclear if they’re affiliated with the spot of the same name in Woodside.

Food is fresh only in the morning. You need to ask thrm to warum up bread or else they give it to. u cold. Customer servive is really bad. If u running late and need some breakfast def best thing around there

So we called a couple of times during week to find the process of pre-​ordering we were told that we had to leave a deposit for 50 mini buñuelos, we drove 45 to not only leaves the deposit, we made a full payment. We said we would pick them up at 5:30 and we were told, no worries they will be ready by 4:00. We came to pick them up by no later than 6 and they didn’t have the order. So we had to wait in a rainy afternoon cause they said we were late! So they’re paid for who care if we are 20 minutes late? Horrible service and no customer service as the person at the counter and later on in a phone conversation was making up stories that changed every time I asked her a different question.

I felt so out of place here… All the delicious looking food and I dont know what it’s called! The one I picked is round soft chewy and fresh out of the oven. It’s only $ 1.15 and so yummy. Omg… I am so going to try making this at home!

Forget everything else, just get either the Pandebono or the Almohabanas. These are sweet cheese filled chewy bread eaten for breakfast in many parts of South America, in this case particular, Colombia. Personally I prefer the Almohabanas. They’re only $ 1.15 each and yummy.
**BRING CASH AS NO CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED!!**

The empanadas here are like… WOHA! I didn’t know something could taste so good that cost so cheap. If I lived in the area I would be a frequent visitor. Of if you decide to do a Jackson Heights food tour (like I did) I would make sure it include this as a stop.

There are about 20 Colombian bakeries in this area of Roosevelt Avenue. I believe I have been to them all and this one is my favorite! They carry something called an Empanada de Cambray. It’s not even known to some Colombians at other bakeries.
Mira Cali has always fresh and never overcooked or stale baked pastries. They have the best selection of breads too!

Was here with my momma and grandma today. We ordered a 2 chorizos (Colombian sausages), an arepa with cheese in the middle and a oven baked chicken empanada, with a can of soda came out to $ 11.
Everything was tasty, but the best would have to be the arepa with cheese in the middle. I’m a little mouse, so i loveee cheeseee, and this arepa was not shy with it. It was warm so it was easy to enjoy.
My mom is a die hard fan for their hawaiian empanada, which consist of ham and pineapple, and I must admit it is pretty tasty. I would recommend all of their oven baked empanadas.
It roughly seats about 10 people? Seating is a counter with stools. Place is small, but I don’t ever see it getting packed so it’s not a hugee problem.

Do yourself a favor. Mosey on over to Miracali, conveniently located just a stone’s throw away from the Roosevelt Avenue Subway Station, and order an «aborrajado» (pronunciation guide: ah-​bo-​rrah-​HA-​do).
Aborrajados are specialties from the Valle del Cauca region of Colombia. They are sweet plantain patties filled with cheese and guava paste. Miracali makes a quality aborrajado. It is soft, not too oily, good balance of sweetness (guava paste) and saltiness (cheese).
Miracali also serves pandebonos and buñuelos. I haven’t tried them yet, but I will soon (and I’ll be sure to Unilocal about them).
The coffee is weak and not very good, but that is to be expected at most Colombian bakeries. If you want quality Colombian-​style coffee, you’ll have to go to Juan Valdez in Manhattan.
There are no tables, just a counter. They have salsa playing at a moderately high volume. While I enjoy the place, I’ll concede that it’s probably not the greatest place for lingering or long, important conversations.

I’ve started going more often to to this place lately, and I think it needs some serious accolades. What is not to like about this place?
Their pandebono is the best in the neighborhood. Yes, I will lay down that gauntlet. But they have so much else! They have baked empanadas (I don’t really like the fried ones) — I had a really tasty baked chicken empananda the other day, and the guy behind the counter described another one to me – it had something like pineapple and chicken (did I get that right? Fun.).
They have the usual arepas — both sweet («choclo»? I think it’s called) and regular — and that arepa cheese sandwhich thing that’s so good. I haven’t tried some of the sweeter breads and pastries, but they look really good, and two are worth mentioning: the cheese danish that looks essentially like a tiny croissant with a little dollop of cheese in the middle — not the generic-​looking cheese danish that you get at coffee carts — and the cheese and guava pastry.
They ALSO always have arroz con leche (rice pudding), which they told me is Colombian-​style — my officemates assured me that whatever style it is, it’s awesome (they are rice pudding nuts). And they also have this very interesting Colombian-​only sort of pudding that looks like dulche de leche but much darker in color. The guy working there told me about it one time, and even gave me a taste, but I can’t remember the details (this was a while ago).
So most of their offerings are typical of Colombian bakeries — and they don’t offer hot food or anything else — this place is strictly a bakery, which I respect — but the quality is a step up from other places. The place is almost always doing a brisk business, and I have to say, every time I go there the folks behind the counter are totally friendly. They switch back and forth from Spanish to English when necessary, and if the place isn’t busy, they’re willing to field all kinds of questions about the baked goods (believe me I have done this, but only when the place is pretty much empty, which is rare).
We need to have a Colombian bakery throwdown in this neighborhood. The only real competitor to Mira Cali, in my opinion, is Villa Colombia over on 82^nd, which is terrific. But if we’re just talking baked goods — freshness, variety, quality — I cast my vote with Mira Cali.

I used to only frequent Mangoes Lighthouse for Colombian cheese bread varietals (Woodside, just under the train on 61^st), but then, I came to Mira Cali.
This bakery has so many options — for something to eat in, take away or snack on. All of the breads, rolls, etc. are fresh and delicious. It really is worth making a trip here if you dont live nearby.

Try a delicious, doughnut-​shaped round of pandebono, a slightly sweet Colombian cheese bread made with yucca flour and mild farmer’s cheese. It’s best enjoyed warm.